Transformers: Rise of The Decepticons
by Ripper22
Summary: 3 months have passed since The Fallen has been killed. The Decepticon survivors have scattered across the planet. But the war is not over. Megatron & Starscream, the leaders, are still alive. Can the Autobots learn of their evil plans before they can be put into action? Discontinued.
1. Chapter 1

_Transformers: Rise of the Decepticons  
By: Ripper22_

**Note: **This takes place a couple months after ROTF. Also, some of the characters might be from the book "The Veiled Threat", so if you don't recognize some, I actually didn't make them. Also, this is my first Transformers fic, not my first fic for Fanfiction. I have several other stories, just not in this section.

_Chapter one_

_Thursday, September 3rd, 2009  
Location: Rome, Italy_

The legendary mechanical organism Transformer known to all as Optimus Prime, huffed anxiously as he and his two companions searched for a duo Decepticons that were reported seen near the famed coliseum of Rome, where The second-in-command Decepticon Starscream had once trapped Prime in. The stressed Autobot was tensed for action, knowing two evil Decepticons lurked nearby.

The parking lot was a likely place for them to hide.

"They might not be here," said one called Bumblebee, the youngest of all Autobots.

"They must," persisted Ratchet, the medic of the band. "I'm sure of it."

"Ratchet…" said Bumblebee sadly.

"Imagine the damage they could cause if they are left alone to stay here." Said Optimus. "We can't let that happen."

Optimus Picked up a red sports car, and shook it lightly. None of the three Autobots heard the quiet snarl. For one of the very decepticons they were searching for was in Optimus' hands.

Dead End the red sports car Decepticon trembled at the thought of being caught. He quietly waited for the accursed Autobot leader to set him down and leave.

"I don't see any Decepticon symbol," muttered Prime as he searched the car thoroughly. He quietly set the car back down. He then grabbed the car next to the Red sports car/Dead End, and was about to inspect it when the car's wheels roared to life.

The Surprised Optimus Prime jumped and let go of the Decepticon and the Yellow car was off.

It transformed into robot mode and darted away. Unfortunately for the Yellow car Decepticon, Ratchet jumped in front of it and shot the Decepticon while it activated its weapons. The 'con was dead before it knew it.

"Swindle," said Prime in a hushed tone. "He was never the bright one. Very dull."

"Well, there must be more elsewhere, otherwise another would have aided the poor guy," said Ratchet, as all three Autobots transformed and got on the main road.

Dead End was smart; he knew he had to risk Swindle's life if he was to continue living. The Decepticon Drove out of the parking lot as much subtlety as possible. He was almost around the bend and to safety until Bumblebee noticed the Decepticon symbol patched onto where the license plate was until it fell off.

"CON!" yelled 'Bee as he transformed and immediately darted for Dead End, who was now fleeing at top speed.

Dead End headed for a sharp turn and drifted, as the other three were left behind.

"Quickly!" commanded Prime, "Bee and Ratchet, chase him, I'll cut him off ahead!"

Prime jogged towards and through a thin alleyway, and saw Dead End zoom by. "Don't let him get away!"

But Dead End had gotten quite a distance away, and stood on top of a building.

Dead End opened up a transmitting room, and tried desperately to communicate with one of his superiors.

"Soundwave!" transmitted Dead End, "Come in! I need back up! I repeat, I need backu—"

The Red sports car 'Con was cut off as Prime burst up from inside the building, making Dead End retreat again.

He crawled down the building on all fours, making debris fly everywhere as his claws shredded the side of the building, and transformed while he started driving on the main road.

Bumblebee and Ratchet turned the corner and saw Dead End. The 'Con panicked as Prime hopped off the building and transformed, right on his tail. Dead End rammed a car and made it fly back, almost hitting Prime, who dodged at the last second. Ratchet, however, was not so lucky, as the flying car hit him while in his alt mode.

This forced the medic out of the chase, leaving Dead End only two Autobots to deal with.

Bumblebee transformed to 'bot mode and jumped on top of Dead End's car. He quickly stopped, forcing 'Bee off the car and landing him right in front of the 'Con.

Dead End transformed to his bipedal mode and jumped over Bumblebee's battered form, and transformed into alt mode.

Optimus stopped to see if 'Bee was all right, then quickly zoomed on towards Dead End's fleeing frame.

The sports car 'Con sped past the coliseum of Rome, and memories came back of the day Prime almost died there. Pushing aside his memories, he sped even faster, fearing a slow death pf his own at the end of Optimus Prime's blade.

He decided to drive in the left lane, thinking he may be able to outmaneuver his larger and harder to steer opponent. He sped past cars going the opposite way, and slowed.

Prime found it hard to keep up with the speedier 'Con, and pulled back.

Dead End, cackled, and sped towards some pillars. But unfortunately, just before he could escape, Bumblebee stepped in front of the exit.

Dead End backed up, only for Optimus to come from behind. Dead End transformed and shot his machine gun at Bumblebee, inflicting multiple light wounds.

Optimus crushed Dead End by stepping on the smaller 'Con, effectively killing him quickly.

Optimus nodded to Bumblebee, who understood. The smaller and younger Autobot dragged the corpse near a nearby river and dumped it in, hiding any evidence.

"It is over," said the dented Ratchet, mending the huge dent on his chest.

"Let us get back to base as quickly as possible." Mused Optimus. "Surely we took a while finding these two 'Cons…"

* * *

Space.

Infinite, it is, stretching to never ending lengths, the vast area of nothingness. However, In the Milky Way Galaxy, some evil plot was stirring. One that might end the Autobots and their existence forever. At least, that was what the two evil 'Cons were hoping. These two Decepticons were known as Starscream and Megatron.

Megatron, the leader of all the Decepticons. He was everything that his followers wanted. He was strong, had Powerful weapons, and was huge. He was ruthless, smart and a wise tactician. He was their leader, and he was liked. But not by Starscream.

Starscream was Megatron's ambitious second-in-command. The F-22 Jet fighter Decepticon was Sly, and an even better thinker than Megatron. He was famous not only for his incredible skill, but also for his limitless (and troublesome) ambition. Starscream believes that he is more suited for command than Megatron.

The two were usually bickering, but right now they were on a mission. One that would aid their time of need. The All Spark had _almost _been entirely destroyed…But not all the way. Megatron held the last few pieces of the All Spark, mere dust fragments. This dust would be used to save their faction, down to the last few bits.

They reached an icy, cold and dead planet, where their old transport ship _Nemesis_ had crashed. That was the new Decepticon hideout, where all the members of the faction were headed for.

* * *

Soundwave is the Decepticon communications officer and one of Megatron's staunchest supporters, he doesn't just master the frequencies that carry information across a planet, he revels in them. He was one of Megatron's highest ranking officers, about equal in rank to Starscream.

He stays in satellite form, watching over his fellow Decepticons and Reports on them if they fail at their duties. Soundwave was almost completely harmless in Satellite mode….If someone was attacking him, that is. He had the ability to run down an entire civilization, but prefers not to, as he enjoys watching them go on with their pathetic existances.

Right now he was grimacing at the corpses of two Decepticon soldiers, Dead End and Swindle. Both murdered just a few mere cycles ago. He added their names on the KIA section and rechecked the list of the Decepticons still on earth that were known of, while at the same time surfing the internet for reports on Transformer sightings.

Barricade (Online)

Dead End (KIA)

Swindle (KIA)

Dropkick (Unknown)

Payload (MIA)

'_Megatron and Starscream are off for the Nemesis,_ _so not counting them there's Me, Barricade and Dropkick.'_ Thought Soundwave to himself, calculating the odds of Dropkick being still functional. _'In fact…'_

Soundwave turned on his worldwide Decepticon seeker transmitters –while erasing a few Transformers sighting websites-, and surely but faint, he caught Dropkick's Function waves.

* * *

Dropkick the Blue Chevrolet Silverado Pickup Truck Decepticon, was fleeing for his life from Longarm, whose mission was to capture the 'Con and take him back to base for questioning.

Dropkick had managed to outrun Longarm for miles, and they were on roads that lead to a forested mountain, and the chase was becoming repetitive; Dropkick would lose Longarm, the 'Con would slow down, and Longarm would appear again, forcing the Evil 'bot to continue fleeing.

Longarm was now fiercely determined to capture Dropkick and question him about what was the Decepticons' current scheme. He used the Tow cable on his car to latch onto Dropkick, and was a perfect hit, as it landed and latched on the back bumper of the blue truck.

Dropkick couldn't get off the hook's grasp, and tried speeding forward as fast as he could, but due to the fact he was extremely exhausted and that the claw was firmly digging into his epidermis, he decided the best way was to transform and flick off the claw on him. Dropkick ranted and swore on in Cybertronian, while transforming to robot mode. The hook ended up being on his hip, and he turned himself to the right facing the cliff and surely enough, the claw flew off him and slammed into Longarm's hood.

The Autobot transformed, as Dropkick ran off, still in Robot mode, crushing cars and kicking them out of his way.

Longarm pursued him, and launched his Tow cable hook again at Dropkick, this time it wrapped around Dropkick's leg, making him fall. Unfortunately, he had been so close to the edge that he had started to feel himself sliding towards the cliff. The Autobot tried to yank Dropkick away from the ledge, but he slipped off the edge and was ultimately saved by Longarm's cable tow.

Dropkick heaved himself up to grab the tow that was wrapped around his leg, and pulled himself up, all the while he was accidentally pulling Longarm down towards the edge. Just as he pulled himself up, Longarm had gone over the edge and Dropkick was almost completely back on the solid ground when he was yanked back down by Longarm's tow cable, which was saving Longarm's life at the moment and was pulling a lot of weight on Dropkick.

Longarm yanked on the cable tow as hard as he could and as Dropkick started falling, Longarm clambered over the heavy weighted Decepticon and jumped to the solid ground, and let the cable tow get loose, letting the falling Decepticon fall to his hopeful demise.

After about ten seconds, Longarm was almost out of tow cables for the Decepticon to fall, so he waited a little longer.

Unfortunately, there was only about five yards' left of tow cable and Longarm decided to let go. He was too late, as he felt a heavy burden of weight forcing him to fly over the edge. However, he was prepared and had his feet firmly placed.

He heard metal being forced apart off of Dropkick as the 'Con screamed and was nearly ripped apart from the hook yanking him up while his body was going down at a fierce rate.

A clank was heard as Dropkick was disconnected from the hook, and he fell even further down the cliff. He then heard a loud clunk as Dropkick's unconscious form had finally reached the bottom.

Longarm winced at the grinding noise of hard metal against sharp rocks, as he transformed and quickly left the scene, knowing nothing else could be done.

* * *

Soundwave flinched as he had watched the whole thing, and was about to mark Dropkick as 'KIA' when he rechecked to make sure the 'Con was dead.

He was _alive._

'_Impossible,'_ thought Soundwave. _'How could he?'_ The Satellite Decepticon then remembered the one thing that made Dropkick known amongst the treacherous Decepticon ranks: His superior endurance, the highest of _any_ Transformer.

He knew Dropkick was now part of this 'Plan' Megatron and Starscream had, as they were looking for certain 'Cons to help with their secret mission. The other Decepticons would be commanded to stay on earth, while the others would go to the _Nemesis_ and hear out Megatron's plan.

He reminded himself the traits Megatron and Starscream were looking for: a good fighter, an expert chemist, a very fast Decepticon, somebody with a high endurance rate and someone who was known for their strategic skill at warfare.

He quickly made a distress signal to Starscream, hoping that the treacherous F-22 Jet fighter heard it.

* * *

"Damn." Said Starscream, one of his claws cracked, making oil spill out slowly. "Damn this damn ship and damn Megatron…"

He picked up a distress signal from Soundwave, instantly on the alert.

"Megatron!" yelled Starscream. "Soundwave is sending a distress beacon!"

"Well then, send Thundercracker to check his position out," snarled Megatron, "You're needed here, as much as I hate to say it."

Starscream grumbled at his leader's annoying added comment and spat out,

"But Thundercracker is one of the Decepticons needed for our secret mission…"

"You are too, so send Thundercracker." Ordered Megatron.

Starscream grumbled and sent a chat room invitation to Thundercracker, hoping he would pick it up from inside the _Nemesis_.

Chat room invitation; sent

_Thundercracker has accepted invitation._

"_I hear ya."_

"_Thundercracker, you're needed to go check out what's wrong with Soundwave. He is orbiting Earth and should be above Asia. Go check it out."_

"Sir yessir!"

_Chat Room closed._

Thundercracker was not very bright, but he was one of Starscream's number one choices as a Second-in-command (Next to Barricade), if he was to ever be rid of Megatron. Thundercracker had created a certain chemical that could have him be heard about 200 miles away when he was flying fast. He did this on purpose: to scare Autobots out of their wits. He had scanned an F-22 as his alt form, making him similar in structure to Starscream, yet he was larger and could endure more damage than the cunning Second-in-command.

Thundercracker opened the huge bay entrance of the _Nemesis_ for Starscream and Megatron, and then zoomed past them at speeds of Mach 6.

Megatron and Starscream hurried to the medical lab, the most underused place, due to the fact that most their doctors were dead, and Decepticons usually neglect medical attention in general. They stared fondly at three particular pods in general, all three holding long-dead transformers of the same faction of Megatron and Starscream. They were three important keys in the role of their ultimate plan.

"Are the Recharge stasis pods ready for the experiment?" asked Megatron to Starscream.

"As ready as they'll ever be, sire," said Starscream, his voice dripping with contempt on the last word.

"Now let's begin the process…I want to defeat the Autobots, once and for all!" said Megatron triumphantly as Starscream hooked up a few cables connecting the recharge stasis pods to a machine nearby, a place where Megatron stuck the All-spark fragments, about two-thirds of the tiny amount of dust, Megatron storing the other third for further experiments.

"Let us begin the experiment!"

Thanks for reading, and please review. Don't expect much of Sam and Mikaela in this story, they have actually rather minor roles in this scheme. I'll have the next chapter up by thanksgiving at the most.


	2. Chapter 2

_Transformers: Rise of The Decepticons  
By: Ripper22_

**Notes: **This story is going to show/portray a small group of Decepticons on a special mission, like the first _Transformers _movie, rather than be like an all-out war in the second. Also, Barricade, the Police car Decepticon in the first movie is actually alive according to the movie live-action comics, so he is in this story…yeah, I thought I should point that out. Despite the fact that I think the constant deaths of Optimus Prime and Megatron and the reviving is pretty dumb, I have decided to get 3 Decepticons a second chance to live and see how the war would turn out if they lived. The Autobots will consist of the First Four, the twins, Arcee, Sideswipe, Jolt, and the ones in _The Veiled Threat_. Annnd I think I'll shut up now.

_Chapter Two_

Barricade's engine sputtered annoyingly as the 'Con pulled over in the construction site near the Great Pyramid of Giza, partly Destroyed, thanks to the damned leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime, him and mostly because of Devastator, the Constructicons' ultimate weapon. No, Barricade had not witnessed the awesome spectacle which had taken place nearby, the spectacle known as the Battle of the Harvester, -casualties as listed, 24 Decepticons, 2 Autobots, and 1 of the seven Wonders of the world- though Barricade had witnessed Scorponok scuttle off to join the battle.

He also had witnessed Ladiesman217's daring escape from Starscream here at the Construction site, and that was about it. He had fled after that; after all, his function was a Hunter, tracker, chief scientist, and Pilot of the _Nemesis_, at least, before it crash-landed on some galaxy near that of this planet's own. Barricade's main weapon was a collection of spinning saws that he could eject out of his left hand, and he could swing them around with enough force to severely scratch the energon out of an Autobot. Other than that, well, he had nothing. Starscream, the only other survivor of the first group of Decepticons to come to Earth besides Megatron -though he didn't exactly count, because he had died technically- had apparently fled with Megatron after the events of The Battle of the Harvester, who was wounded severely, having lost an arm, his fusion cannon and half his face, he followed Starscream's sagely advice: _"Those who run away, live again to fight another day!"_

Barricade tended to agree with Starscream more often than Megatron, and after all, maybe Starscream was a better leader than Megatron _himself_. The F-22 had once said that he didn't believe in exterminating for extermination's sake, or in other words he would only terminate a race if it was necessary, unlike Megatron; Starscream also had been in command for thousands of years since Megatron's disappearance from going after the All-spark, and had been in command the two years Megatron were dead, and lastly, Starscream seemed to never die – He lived through the greatest battles, survived both major battles here on Earth, and survived several one-on-one fights against the leader of the Autobots, Prime himself.

Barricade was about to think further when suddenly, the Caterpillar dump truck in front of him transformed, ceasing any further processes of thought for the police 'Con. For a moment, Barricade's facial plates were twisted into a look of shock, but it quickly disappeared as he backed up and engaged his left saw blades, yelling,

"State your name and rank, Transformer, and I might let you live!" lied Barricade, blades at the ready.

"Designation Long Haul, Constructicon," stated the hulking injured figure once it was done transforming. "Survivor of the Battle of the Harvester. Current status: Wounded."

Barricade checked the Transformer out. Indeed, it must be Long Haul, the huge form, the look of annoyance etched on its face, the look of relief when he had seen his fellow Decepticon, me. Still, it had been hundreds of years since Barricade had seen Long Haul, or any other Constructicon for that matter. He still had to prove his superiority, and make positively sure it was Long Haul. And there was only one way to find out.

Barricade's saws slowed, and retracted back into his left arm.

"You check out." Explained Barricade, actually lying. "Now since I'm the superior here, you need to carry my equipment."

Almost instantly, Long Haul answered, complaining,

"Aw, do I have to? I carry everything. Why do I never get the decent jobs?"

Barricade could not resist chuckling at the fellow 'Con's complaint.

"It really is you, Long Haul. Where's your squad, the other Constructicons?" asked Barricade, completely relaxing, even lying on the ground.

For a moment, Barricade could see the pain in Long Haul's red optics, but it quickly went away.

"Killed," explained Long Haul. "By the Autobots."

"Let me guess," sniffed Barricade, "In the battle?"

"Of course. While seven of ours, Scrapper, Rampage, Hightower, Overload, Scavenger, Quickmix and Heavy Duty combined into Devastator to activate the harvester…Me, Mixmaster, Skipjack and Scrapper 2 fought with some Decepticon Protoforms who landed on Earth shortly before the battle." Long Haul paused a moment.

"Wait, explain the team again, this is confusing." Admitted Barricade a little perplexed.

"Me and Heavy Duty had the same body type, same with Rampage and Skipjack, Mixmaster and Quickmix, and Scrapper 1 and Scrapper 2. Demolishor and Scavenger are actual twins though. Demolishor perished as me and half the Constructicons made landfall on Earth."

"Continue with the battle." Quipped Barricade, looking around for any spectators.

"So me, Skipjack, Mixmaster, Scrapper 2, Ravage, Starscream and around a dozen Decepticon protoforms fought against the humans and the Autobots. Before that, we searched for Samuel Witwicky, who is Ladiesman217. Starscream found them, and shot a missile inside the house, which did not kill them. Starscream took to the sky, as Ravage dashed off somewhere, then Skipjack set up the trap for Sam Witwicky, using his parents to make Sam stay. But then Bumblebee snuck up on Skipjack and fought him. Ravage rushed to Skipjack's aid, only to be killed, as well as Skipjack.

"So they were found by a scouting team of Autobots, and the battle _really_ began. We ambushed them from behind, some MPV buffalo Decepticon led the ambush, which succeeded in killing one of the motorcycle Autobots. However, Ironhide and the other two pushed through, clearing the way for Ladiesman and his female companion. The Autobot scout survivors stayed behind to keep us at bay, which only worked for about a half a human minute, which Mixmaster and I both double-teamed one of the motorcycles, killing it, leaving Ironhide and the last Autobot motorcycle, who retreated back, but not entirely. By then, Human reinforcements came to support them, two air vehicles, which I shot one down, the other one flying off towards the pyramid with the Harvester.

"Devastator was scaling the pyramid and about halfway there, using grappling hooks to propel himself upwards. But suddenly, things go wrong. Devastator is almost done uncovering the ancient Harvester, when he is struck by a beam of light, coming from far away, killing all seven of the Constructicons who were combined into Devastator. Then, Mixmaster got tired of the slow advance, and decided to speed it up, by marching ahead of the safety lines and using the safety of his shields to fire from behind. He shoots his ray gun at one of the human tanks, and destroys it, and pins down the rest, but suddenly, Jetfire the Deceptibot traitor, Decepticon-turned-Autobot thought to be long dead, seemed to come out of nowhere and slice Mixmaster in half. Mixmaster struggles to escape, and props himself onto some remains of a house, only to look down and see Ladiesman217 and his female friend! He transmitted this to Scrapper and me, just an instant before Jetfire, Decapitated him, killing Mixmaster instantly.

"Finally, as I fought Ironhide with a Protoform, I glanced towards Jetfire to see the sands nearby sift, and I instantly knew who was the reason behind the moving sand: Scorponok."

Barricade looked surprised for a second.

"The drone leaped out of the sand, and stabbed Jetfire's treacherous chest, injuring the slimy turncoat to the extreme. Sadly, Jetfire killed Scorponok too, with a quick crush to the head. Finally, in the last moments of the battle, Starscream slunk off, and then I knew it was over for us, losses to the extreme, only two casualties to the enemy…only me, Scrapper and about five Protoforms still remained in the structure, losing the spirit of the battle…So I gave a war cry and knocked Ironhide away, and yelled for one last charge before I would retreat. Before we could do it, Scrapper and me saw human flying jets again, the kind like Starscream's. I realized they were going to bomb us, and snuff us out. Scrapper instantly spun around and ran out of there, I stood there, paralyzed by the fear of being bombed. Before I could react, a missile hit my shoulder, and I cried with pain as one of my tires flew out of its place, hurting me more than I could think. I laid there for a moment, hurting more than ever and scared out of my mind. Then, I saw the jets dump an entire load of bombs slightly ahead of my position, falling, falling. I picked myself up and ran. I turned back to see Scrapper and a protoform running, towards Sam Witwicky and his mate, desperately trying to escape the oncoming barrage of missiles.

"Scrapper gave one last scream of despair before he and the other Decepticon were caught in the explosion of the bombs, engulfing them. I stopped looking back and transformed, and raced out of the area in time to avoid the bombing's explosions. Two other Protoforms besides me escaped, but one was unfortunate enough to be spotted by the human tanks, and he got crushed by the pillars nearby which were hit by one of the tank's fire, killing him, leaving only me and the incoming Megatron, leading only one surviving Protoform out of the five who lived to see the bombing to charge at the tanks. As the very last protoform died from the blast of a tank, Megatron, all by himself, broke through the defenses and shot his cannon at Ladiesman217, killing him!"

Long Haul expected Barricade to show joy to the news, but strangely…he looked…sad?

"Er…something wrong?" grumbled Long Haul, clearly confused.

"Oh, no," said Barricade trying to hide his displeasure through a thick voice. "Do continue."

"So, anyways, He killed this Sam Witwicky. Starscream landed in front of me, apparently not noticing I was actually still alive. He had a look of pure glee, cackling to himself in the way he does when he finally wins a battle or something like that. Starscream and me watch as Megatron gets overwhelmed by the numerous firepower he was receiving as he transformed into tank form and flew off. Starscream, now looking a little saddened at seeing Megatron get away, he went into the sky again, flying away as fast as possible from this particular spot so to not get seen or caught by the Human/Autobot team.

"Everything after that is a blur to me. We had lost the battle, yes, but it was not an entire loss! The Harvester was still on top of the human pyramid, unharmed! But somehow, in some miraculous misfortune…the human, Ladiesman217, _stood up_, and approached Optimus Prime's dead body. I was shocked, I'll tell you. He took the Matrix of leadership, and threw it down onto Optimus' central chest! The body shook for a second or two, then Optimus started to _move_. I was both upset and felt that Scrapper and the others all died for nothing, all my team members, dead for naught. Then I remembered the Harvester, the real thing that we had been fighting for!

"And out of thin air, this evil looking robot appeared and stood on top of Prime, pinning him down, and at the same time, killing some humans with his spear. I didn't understand half of what or who the guy was, though he seemed to be fighting for the Decepticons. Then the weird looking newcomer disappeared, I tell you, literally, and he reappeared a few hundred human meters away, from where he had disappeared. I swear to Primus I'm telling you the truth, Barricade. So then he appeared on top of the Pyramid structure with Megatron, and placed somethin' on the Harvester, which activated it! It was powering up, getting ready to destroy this planet's sun, effectively killing all life on Earth except for us the Transformers! All the human land vehicles turned toward the pyramid and opened fire, not letting up. Most of them missed, but some hit that weird Decepticon almost directly, though he apparently wasn't fazed. He simply raised both hands, and everything flew up, up I say, flying towards the pyramid, then simply dropped down it shortly after, freaking me out.

"I raced for cover as I looked in time to see a newly improved Optimus Prime, with parts of the turncoat Jetfire attached to him! I was so terrified that I would be spotted by the Autobot leader that I ran for cover in some nearby ditch, about a hundred meters away from the structures that the battle was fought in. From there, I saw Optimus crash through some floating rocks, and tackle the weird magic Decepticon with the frills head on! At the same time, Optimus shot a bullet at the Harvester, destroying it and sending Megatron flying off the top of the Pyramid, falling down fast. Optimus and the Decepticon fell on top of some weird ruins next to the battle scene where the others and me had fought. The two mighty fighters were locked together, rolling sideways on the crumbling pillars before falling down into the building's midsection so that I couldn't see what else happened.

"I ran over there in time to see the Autobot leader kick Megatron's aft, and rip off his arm and blast him through a wall, only to have our leader call for aid from Starscream! The Decepticon guy with frills got back up and tore off some of Optimus' extra thick armor, and tries to rip off his head also. It failed, and Prime ripped the guy's head armor off, showing his true face which was ugly I tell you. Then, with unbelievable speed Optimus ran his hand through the guys' chest and ripped out his spark and crushed it, yelling something. I didn't stay to find out, because I ran to hide in this quarry, and hope that the others wouldn't find me before I healed enough to leave this place."

Long Haul stopped speaking, and waited for Barricade to reply, obviously stunned by the news. After a minute, Barricade asked,

"What of Megatron and Starscream? Did they escape?" Barricade asked this already knowing the answer, trying to see how much Long Haul knew.

"Oh yes, as I approached this quarry, I saw them fly off, to where, I don't know." Answered Long Haul, obviously talkative due to lack of companionship. After all, his teammates all died, so he might just get a little grief-struck in a while.

Barricade got up and paced around the bigger 'Con, and looked Long Haul over closely, looking at the damage.

" A couple minor scratches, a sliced right heel, burnt and charred backside, and a deep shoulder wound." Said Barricade. "You got it off pretty remarkably lucky, considering the way you were in an all-out battle…" Barricade's optics met with Long Haul's. The Police car Decepticon then stated, "We have to move in the next hour though. We have an important human to catch, who shall give us information on what we need."

"Wait, who else is alive besides you and me? Are Megatron and Starscream alive? Is Soundwave still in orbit above Earth?" asked Long Haul. "And who exactly is this human we need to catch?"

Barricade smirked in the best way his faceplates would allow before answering Long Haul with a single word.

"Galloway."

The Autobot Longarm snuck aboard a plane back to the U.S., taking him straight to the nearby city next to the Autobot base. He was nearly caught several times, unlike the other three Autobots who were picked up by Lennox and a squad of soldiers.

On the way to the airport, Optimus Prime spoke to Lennox.

"I believe it is time to start taking Decepticon prisoners." Said Optimus simply.

"Serious?" asked Lennox, quite surprised. "Those guys are merciless…"

"Not all," replied Prime, obviously showing his pacifistic side for once after months of merciless searches for Decepticons. "Not all are pure evil, some only wished to live, and be left alone, such as Dropkick, Demolishor or Sideways. Especially Sideways, the courier, he was only a Decepticon because they seemed to have stronger fighters, and they also won most of the battles in the beginning. But now the tide has turned, and we have not learned anything that they intend to do. I feel great pain killing those who could have changed over time."

"I understand, but they could be ordered to spy our base, we can't risk that," reasoned Lennox, "Besides, the war must almost be over, right? The only official survivors are Megatron and Starscream, all the others are reported KIA."

"You seem to forget, the certain Saleen Police car Decepticon who has spied on us on numerous occasions." Reminded Optimus. "And Soundwave may be watching from above us, at this very moment, spying. He has not revealed himself, but Bumblebee reported that he specifically killed Ravage himself during the Harvester scuffle, who happens to be Soundwave's number one helper."

"Okay, I'll admit, a few have indeed gotten away, but they're numbered too few. They can't do a full operation, can they?"

"Soundwave disapproves," hissed Soundwave, using cameras that Dead End and Swindle had planted throughout the streets of Rome in case there was a need to spy on Autobots. He watched Optimus angrily, who was transforming into alt mode, into Truck form. "Ravage's death shall not be in vain, for I shall avenge him!"

Thundercracker sped toward Soundwave, opening a chat room to Soundwave when he was less than a mile away.

_Soundwave accepts chat._

"_Soundwave orders you to answer why you approach."_

"_Relax, Soundwave, it's me, Thundercracker. The Screamer and Megatron wish to know why you're sending a distress signal."_

"_Dropkick needs to be hauled to safety. He is in the United States, state Pennsylvania. Take him to the abandoned Broadwater Metal Works in the state of New Jersey. Do this as quick as possible."_

"_Oh, by the way. Soundwave, prepare for Operation: Vengeance, by Megatron's orders." _

"_Soundwave approves."_

_Soundwave has ended chat._

Thundercracker sped right on past Soundwave, intent on completing his task as quickly as possible.

The next Day…

Once Optimus Prime and the others had reached the base, almost immediately there were Decepticon contacts.

"Who do we send?" asked Epps, "There's a few to choose from."

"Definitely not the twins or Bumblebee. Or Arcee, she is still in pain from losing her two other selves…" said Lennox, rubbing his forehead.

"Let's send in Longarm, Sideswipe and Knockout, they haven't been in action since the battle in Egypt."

And so, Sideswipe, Longarm and Knockout, along with several humans, were sent off to Egypt, hoping to engage the Decepticon threat in time to keep any human civilians from getting hurt.

* * *

**_Sorry this is so...so...how do I say it...sketchy? I promised this would be up by Thanksgiving, but I've had some projects due, which mixed things up. I'll probably edit this soon, and make it better. R&R of course._**


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